Week: Holy Week
As usual, each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We’ll need something heavy that we can hold in our hands for our ASK prayers a bit later.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Lord Jesus, as we journey through Holy Week together, we remember that You chose to suffer and die because of Your great love for us. We also remember that You rose from the dead, and that You’re alive today. We look forward to meeting with You in new ways this week.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Max
Revelation 1:18
[Jesus said] I am the One who lives; I was dead, but look, I am alive forever and ever!
Revelation 1:18a (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
The Roman soldiers told Jesus to carry His heavy wooden cross up the hill to where they were going to crucify Him. But Jesus didn’t have the strength to do it.
Read by Max
Mark 15:21-22
A man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming from the fields to the city. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus. They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull.
Mark 15:21-22 (NCV)
Jesus was exhausted. His body was badly bruised and bloody from being beaten by the Roman soldiers, and His heart was aching after having been abandoned by His friends. Jesus tried to carry His heavy wooden cross, but He fell beneath the weight of it, so the soldiers grabbed a man from the side of the road to help Him – his name was Simon.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When was the last time that we helped someone to do something? Or when was the last time we asked someone to help us?
We obviously don’t have a cross to carry like Jesus did, but there are often things in our lives that feel heavy on the inside. Things like worries, challenges, even difficult friendships.
If we’ve got something heavy to hold, let’s pick it up now. (If not, let’s use our imaginations.) Now let’s use this to represent the things that feel heavy on the inside.
Lord Jesus, we bring to You the things that have been weighing us down. We ASK You to help us carry them.
As we think of other people who seem weighed down at the moment, who comes into our minds? Who do we know that might feel this way?
Lord Jesus, we ASK You to draw close to them, to comfort them and give them strength. Show us if there’s a way that we can help them, just like Simon did for You.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Mark 15:21-22
A man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was coming from the fields to the city. The soldiers forced Simon to carry the cross for Jesus. They led Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the Place of the Skull.
Mark 15:21-22 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, You said, ‘come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ (Matthew 11:28, NIVUK) We say YES to this, because we need it, and we say YES to helping carry the weight for others too when we can.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Revelation 1:18
[Jesus said] I am the One who lives; I was dead, but look, I am alive forever and ever!
Revelation 1:18a (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Joy lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and her dog. She works for Bridgetown Church where she leads kids as they grow, learn, and have lots of fun. Joy loves gardening, summer camp, eating ice cream, and reading her favourite books, The Chronicles of Narnia.
Max is 9 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his older brother and mum and dad. He often rides his bike to school and enjoys being creative by drawing or building with Lego. Max is also learning how to play the electric guitar and loves turning it up loud!
